


Rebellion

by goldtoashes, heirsofbrokenlegacies (jarofhearts)



Series: Discord [6]
Category: TOLKIEN J. R. R. - Works & Related Fandoms, The Silmarillion and other histories of Middle-Earth - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: Abusive Relationships, Angband, M/M, Melkor's growing madness and paranoia, Possessive Melkor, Pre-First Age, Silmarils, Violence, power addiction
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-10
Updated: 2019-12-10
Packaged: 2021-02-26 04:00:35
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,561
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21747169
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/goldtoashes/pseuds/goldtoashes, https://archiveofourown.org/users/jarofhearts/pseuds/heirsofbrokenlegacies
Summary: Melkor returns from his imprisonment in Aman and feels he needs to remind Mairon who is in charge.
Relationships: Morgoth Bauglir | Melkor/Sauron | Mairon
Series: Discord [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1537228
Kudos: 33





	Rebellion

The earth trembled under fiery feet and the triumphant whizzing of the scourges cut through the sticky air, yet louder was the sound of many voices screaming, whispering and hissing the same words as we entered through the huge gate that protected the fortress.

_ He comes! He comes! _

Various creatures scampered out of our way as we passed them by, and those that were too slow or too stupid were hit by the fiery lashes of the Balrogs still flanking me. The whole of Angamandi and seemingly every creature in the vicinity was on its feet, half curious, half fearful to witness the return of their master, whom most of them had never seen at all. Wolves were howling from the towers and the black slag hills, bats glided through the dusty sky, hairy spiders and other dreadful wights that shunned light hid from the dark flames that were crowded around me. Orcs and goblins were yelling and cheering with their hoarse voices, beating drums that filled the entire stronghold with a deep, stirring pulse that echoed the darkness down here.

_ He comes! He comes! _

Though I was tired, exhausted from my latest and indeed most wicked deeds, I felt dark triumph rising in my chest. Still I clenched the small casket with the gleaming gems in my hands that hurt because of their bright fire, but I was not willing to unhand them before I was alone in my most secret and darkest chamber, deep under the roots of the tormented earth. They were mine, the last fire and spirit of the Two Trees that were on account of the Great Spider and me now only rotten, stinking waste. Twice I had now destroyed their precious light they had brought into the world, twice I had let them crash back into the darkness we all descended from. Silly, starry-eyed fools! They had believed my noble mien and my humble words, the lost brother, the black sheep that remorsefully crawls back to his designated place. I chuckled to myself, for they had never realized that the only designated place that measured up to me was here, as a king of the world and master of its fate indeed.

_ He comes! He is back! Lord Melkor is freed from his captivity, our lord and master returns! _

Deeper and deeper we went, down into the hidden depths of my second fortress, and my creatures and servants followed in droves. Despite my exhaustion and my grim mood, I noticed the immense extensions that had been conducted during my absence. Angamandi had been in ruins when the Valar dragged me to Aman in chains, as well as my main stronghold Utumno, and all of my followers had been scattered and had fled in fear to the deepest caverns in the mountains. I had half expected to find dead wastelands when I returned. But instead, my former followers had been summoned again and sent out to rescue me when Ungolianth had betrayed and attacked me in the northern plains. The same power that had convened all evil and dark spirits to Angamandi had also rebuilt and even strengthened the fortress with visible effort.

_ He comes! He is here… _

This power awaited me in the throne hall, where the celebration of fire and darkness was at its peak. And even through the smoke, the noise and the crowd he was the one that saw me first from where he sat in the midst of the uproar and its natural center, glowing in a dark beauty whose bright yet deadly fire excelled even the heat of the Balrogs surrounding me. Slowly - maybe a little  _ too _ slowly - he rose from the dark basalt throne and gracefully strode towards me. The noise level fell instantly and the lower creatures fearfully backed away so that we met in the middle of the hall.

“My Lord Melkor, welcome back home!” he greeted me and bowed, a smile tugging on the corners of his mouth that was hard to interpret. “I am glad to see we could rescue you from Ungolianth’s dark webs just in time.”

“There’s no need for your silver tongue, Lieutenant,” I waved his formal greeting aside. My hands burned in pain and made me feel irritable, and I did not like being reminded of the disgustingly swollen body and the sticky threads of the Great Spider. “I’d prefer to hear what happened in Middle-Earth during my absence.”

He raised his slender eyebrows in mild surprise at my curt response but chose not to comment on it. 

“Certainly, if you wish.” 

I allowed my gaze to linger on his face for a moment, despite my irritability able to appreciate the sight. He had kept his shape, that same beautiful face, the perfect waves of his red-golden hair, the slender, elegant body. Yet he had changed during the centuries that had passed since our first meeting, had beautified just as I had envisioned, honed and sharpened into something brilliant and dangerous. The bright light of innocence had given way for a darker, more savage burning that sometimes was mirrored inside his now golden and catlike eyes. After having overcome his initial reservations, he had developed an exquisite sense for cynicism and a notion for cruelty that had not been fully formed yet when the Valar had come for me, but already plain to see. And I was sure that in my absence, he had only honed it. The perfect weapon I had had in mind even back then.

Briefly I wondered whether the Valar would ever recognize the beauty in the dangerous, yet graceful predator he had become, that resembled so much the wolves he liked to surround himself with.

I finally ended my scrutiny and walked past him towards my throne, aching hand still closed around my casket with the Silmarils.

“Go on then.”

He briefly explained what had happened in my lands while I had been gone, which, as expected, was not much expect for some new settlements of the elves that had chosen to remain in Middle-Earth. With remarkably more enthusiasm, he then started to tell about how he had rebuilt Angband and what enhancements had been made. I only half listened to what he explained to me, yet I did notice the pride in his words, how he boastfully lingered on the details of his constructions and plans for the fortress. Of course, humility and submission had always been rather foreign to his nature and he had always liked being in charge, yet the degree of overbearing self-assurance that I sensed in his words was not to my taste at all. 

I had been away for too long, after all.

I let myself sink heavily into the dark throne und tried to let calmness ease my mind, but in vain. Still the damned gems were burning hot and still I did not dare to detach my hands from the casket, afraid that they would look as horrible as they felt.

“It surprises me, Lieutenant,” I interrupted his explanations after some time. “that you have rebuilt and strengthened Angband, but do not mention Utumno with a single word.”

There was just the slightest moment of hesitation, the tiniest crack in his self-confident demeanor.

“Well, I did not rebuild it,” he finally said, managing to actually startle me with his words. I stared at him, eyes narrowing angrily.

“And why is it that you turned a blind eye to my main stronghold?”

Finally, there was some flicker of nervousness in his eyes, though his voice had lost none of its self-assurance and of course, as always, he was not at a loss for an explanation. “Because I do not think we should rebuild it at all, my Lord. In the last war, our armies were split, separated in both strongholds. If we focus all our powers in one centre, we will be much stronger and defendable in case of another attack. And Angamandi turned out to be the stronger fortress because of its deeper roots in the earth, so I chose it in your… absence.”

_ And certainly this has nothing to do with the fact that Angamandi is your own precious creation. _

I could barely keep myself from grinding my teeth. Maybe I should have reckoned that the experience of having supreme command over Angamandi and all my former armies without receiving orders from me in return had gone to his beautiful head. And now he seemed to be quite reluctant to return these privileges entirely. Too bad for him that I was certainly in no need of a second Dark Lord in Middle-Earth.

“Very well, Lieutenant,” I therefore answered in my most patronizing voice. “Thank you for your estimation, I will soon decide how to proceed with Utumno. In the meantime, I will be satisfied with Angamandi and hope the enhancements will hold what you promised – for we will be in need of them to protect a treasure that in this moment rests in my hands, a treasure that is of incredible value to our enemies and that I snatched from them.” I raised my voice with my last words and rose from the throne, upholding the small casket so everyone could see it. “For fire and iron and stone shall keep the last light remaining in the world, shall keep Fëanáro’s Silmarils!”

With these words I opened the casket and bright light flashed up in the gloom and made the creatures in the hall back away with shrieks of dismay. Yet, to my satisfaction, their light was not bright enough to cast darkness and shadows entirely away and it seemed lean in the great hall. A murmur went through the crowd, appalled as well as admiring, but I had only ears for Mairon’s surprised gasp beside me.

He seemed blinded by the piercing glare as well, blinking several times. However, he did not back away, nor did he take his eyes away from the jewels. The light of the Silmarils seemed to mirror in the burning gold of his eyes, enhancing their fire in an oddly beautiful effect. 

“What are they?” he finally asked, almost mesmerized, his hand moving slowly towards the casket without him even noticing.

Oh yes, I knew of their power, their unimaginable pull. I smiled and closed the casket again, snapping shut the lid on the source of the Silmarils’ light. Even the pain in my hands felt utterly worth it in this moment.

“They contain the mingled light of Yavanna’s Trees. Beautiful, my fair one, are they not?”

He shook his head and blinked as if to get rid of their dazzling effect. “They are… but… will they not lead them  _ right here _ ?”

“The Valar?” I let out a laugh, once again filled with the sheer satisfaction of having defied them like this. “I believe they have enough other problems to deal with right now than to chase after their wayward elfling’s jewels.”

But he shook his head fiercely. “No. If you are the cause of these problems, they will surely chase  _ you  _ sooner or later. Even more so if you hold something that they need!” His eyes were flashing with disdain. “The last light remaining in the world, you say? Then why not get rid of it, destroy it once and for all? Cast them into some fiery chasm and be done with them!”

His voice had become progressively louder from the unsure, half-awed, half-afraid tone when he had first seen the jewels, and with it, the murmur in the hall had hushed down to near silence. And while his voice rose, so did my ire.

I glared at him for some heartbeats while I fought the desire to slap his beautiful face right in front of everyone to see.

“Out, everyone.”

Some commands do not have to be very loud or aggressive to underline the fact that they are better obeyed as quickly as possible. It took only a small while until the heavy iron gate closed behind the last creature scurrying away and he and I were the only ones remaining.

He knew of course that he had overstepped, his eyes not meeting mine, although every fibre of his being radiated both defiance and anger. Only when the door fell shut he lifted his gaze, trying again in a more placable tone.

“My Lord. What I  _ meant _ to say was -”

He did not have the time to finish the sentence. In an instant, I was on my feet, boiling with rage, and hit him with all the force I could muster.

Every elfish head would have burst from the sheer violence of the blow. Even though his did not, the blow was still strong enough for a satisfyingly nasty sound. He stumbled and crashed to the floor in a daze.

“How dare you!” I growled in a tone that made the stone walls around the halls tremble slightly. “Command over this fortress and my forces has gone to your head, has it not? You  _ dare  _ tell me what I  _ must do _ in front of all my servants, you dare make demands and question my choices?”

He propped himself up on his hands, struggling to get back on his feet again, and finally I could see fear in his eyes as he desperately tried to defend himself. 

“I did exactly what you asked me to, I -”

“Stay where you are until I tell you otherwise. Am I making myself clear?” I growled, towering over his struggling form. He froze immediately, smart enough to lower his gaze and be silent for once and in doing so managing to appease my temper.

I looked at him for a long moment, an odd battle of anger and affection going on in my chest. For so long I had not seen him, this beautiful, skilled Maia I was proudest to call mine.

Finally, I reached down and put my burned hand under his jaw to cup his face, fingers of the other hand brushing his red-golden hair away from his face to bare it for my gaze.

“My Fairest One. You have forgotten what it's like to have someone to answer to,” I said in a softer voice, my thumb tracing the line of his jaw. “But I remember the day you first came and knelt before me, hungering for power, for glory, eager to prove your value. You swore me an oath then - you swore to serve and obey me, you promised your protection and your loyalty and to act always in my interest. And I did my part, enhanced your powers, gave you responsibility, leadership over my armies and even my second stronghold in your command. I gave you even more: When the Valar brought war upon us, it was you who was protected, hidden far from their eyes, and me who was dragged to Valmar in chains. And they searched for you as well, believe me, Mairon. They wanted you.”

There was a moment of silence until he realized that I wanted him to answer this time.

“You  _ wanted _ me to go,” he muttered. “I would have stayed, I would have fought for you, I  _ would  _ have tried to protect you. It was you who told me to leave and hide so I could rebuild the fortress and your armies, to prepare everything for your return.” He looked back up at me. There was something deep down in the molten gold of his eyes, something raw and furious and vulnerable that drew me in irresistibly. “I  _ did  _ obey you in this, did I not?”

It seemed he had not forgotten how to please me with his words, if only he wanted to - if only he was afraid enough.

“You did,” I conceded, thumb brushing over his delicate cheekbone. “And you will be rewarded for it.”

Even while I said it, I felt for the long silent connection between us and opened it just enough to let traces of my power trickle to him, a taste of what he must have missed desperately during my absence. Seeing my fingers on his fair cheeks, on the delicate bruise that was forming on his cheekbone, I realized that they were indeed burnt black, the ravaging pain having soothed to a dull pulsing. Briefly I wondered if it was possible to get used to it in time even while I spoke to him again.

“Listen to me, Fairest. I repaid my brothers and sisters for every humiliation, for everything they did. The Trees are gone and their last light - the remaining light in the world indeed - is now in my hands. No, I won’t destroy the Silmarils. I will put them in an Iron crown, as a mockery for them who dared to defy me. For the more pain I have endured and am still enduring to hold them in my hands, the more they are precious to me now. And even if they come to claim them back, to defeat us again, I expect you as well as the lowest creature in my hall to stand against them and defend these gems… to your utter destruction, if it may be necessary. For your life, your will, your spirit, everything you are is mine according to your own oath. Never forget that again.”

He nodded slowly, although his eyes had become a little dazed and had lost their focus. I felt his spirit flaring up greedily when my powers touched him, the ever-present hunger inside of him roaring up loudly at the tease. Ever so slightly, I felt him leaning into the touch of my hand and although I knew he was too proud to ask, I sensed through the bond between us how every fibre of his being was yearning for more.

Not yet. He would have more, but not yet. I smiled and caressed his cheek before finally letting go and standing up to my full height again.

“Good. You may ask my pardon now.”

His eyes slowly became clear again and although I could sense his frustration about receiving no more than a little taste of my power, he knew better than to complain.

“Master…” His words were a little reluctant, yet it was clear he would not challenge me any further. “Please forgive my thoughtless and inappropriate words. I did not mean to annoy you nor question you or your command.”

We both knew he hated these gestures of submission, and I usually did not demand them from him for this reason. The battered skin over his right cheekbone was slowly colouring purple, and though he could have healed the bruise in an instant, he was prudent enough to wait. Still it did not reduce his beauty, and though his expression with the lowered eyes did not show any visible emotion, I disported myself for an instant in the image of unwilling, yet graceful submission.

“Very well. Rise, Lieutenant.”

“Yes, my Lord.”

He did and I watched him, curious what I would see in his eyes when he gazed at me. I knew he still did not agree with my decision, yet he was visibly relieved that he would get out of this rather lightly. After all, I could have hurt him so much more than I had done. I was sure he had not forgotten that.

Yet my irritability had been assuaged in part now, not least because he was not wrong: I had indeed returned to a fortified stronghold and a vast army that was ready to attack the elves that had established their kingdom here in Beleriand. The thought was pleasing enough that it contributed to subduing the pain in my hands.

“I think you might have been right about focusing our power in one stronghold,” I decided to let him know, a concession to ease the bruise my return had dealt him.

He nodded, a thoughtful expression in his eyes. “We might have to think about the necessary arrangements if we are indeed preparing for a war, strengthen fortifications, stock provisions, upgrade the armories… I had some scenarios drafted a while ago. I suggest I'll review them and show them to you as soon as…” he hesitated for a moment, his eyes flicking from my face to my hands, “well, as soon as you've recovered from your endeavors?”

“Just so,” I waved the words away, not wanting to talk or even think about my ‘endeavors’ with Ungolianth, or even with the Silmarils. I wanted to retreat and gorge myself on the ethereal jewels, no matter how bright their light was, no matter how much it might hurt.

For another moment, however, I allowed my gaze to linger on his face, taking in  _ his  _ beauty instead. What a gem of his own he was.

“My most beautiful. It is good to see your face again.”

He made some sort of noncommittal hum, no doubt thinking about the bruise that graced said face.

“I hope you'll find everything here in Angamandi to your satisfaction, my Lord. And if anything is amiss, please do let me know.”

Oh, he would get used to my presence again, even if it might encroach on the privileges he had taken for himself in my absence. Until then, I would have an eye on him and make sure that neither he, nor the Silmarils would prove too much trouble.

My two most prized possessions.


End file.
